Abstract

Background: Inflammation in the body may be exacerbated by food intolerances, which often go undiagnosed due to delayed symptoms and improper testing. The antigen leukocyte cellular activation test (Alcat), a food intolerance test, determines leucocytic response to specific foods.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of an Alcat-guided elimination diet on pro-inflammatory markers, body composition, and self-reported medical symptoms.

Methods: In this pre-test/post-test double-blind experiment, subjects were randomly assigned to either the treatment group (TX; n?=?87) or the placebo group (PL; n?=?46). Subjects followed a four-week Alcat-guided elimination diet. The TX group eliminated foods to which they tested “sensitive,” and the PL eliminated foods to which they tested “not sensitive.” Blood samples, body composition measurements, and Medical Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ) were completed on days 1 and 30.

Results: Repeated-measures analysis of variance found an interaction effect for serum amyloid A (SAA), with values decreased for the TX and increased for the PL over time (P?<?0.035). Body mass index (BMI) and MSQ scores decreased over time for both groups (P?<?0.001 and P?<?0.001, respectively), but decreases were significantly greater for the TX for both BMI (P?=?0.003) and MSQ scores (P?<?0.001). There were main effects for time for myeloperoxidase (P?<?0.001), interleukin-6 (P?<?0.03), and percent body fat (P?<?0.001), but no interaction effects or main effects for elimination diet.